1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle device for cargo trucks or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 of the drawings illustrates a conventional buckle device for cargo trucks. The buckle device includes a main body 60 and a buckle 70 having an end pivoted to a mediate portion of the main body 60 by a pivotal shaft 64. The pivoted end of the buckle 70 includes an eccentric portion 73 with teeth 72 formed thereon. A torsion spring 71 is mounted between the buckle 70 and the pivotal shaft 64 for biasing the teeth 72 toward a fixed seat 62. A first end of the main body 60 includes a fixed pin 63 to which an end 92 of a strap 90 is attached. The other end 93 of the strap 90 includes a hook member 91 attached thereto so as to be hooked to, e.g., a cargo truck frame (not shown). Another strap 80 is provided and includes a first end 83 to which a hook member 81 is attached so as to be hooked to the cargo truck frame. A second free end 82 of the strap 80 is extended through a slot 61 in the main body 60 and then bent about 180.degree. to extend through a gap between the teeth 72 and the fixed seat 62, as shown in FIG. 6. In the adjustment of the length of the strap 80 intended for tightly retaining goods on the cargo truck, the worker must pivot the other end of the buckle 70 with one hand to form the gap between the teeth 72 and the fixed seat 62 to thereby allow he or she to pull the free end 82 of the strap 80 with the other hand until he or she feels that the goods would be reliably retained. Nevertheless, the force applied by the torsion spring for biasing the teeth 72 to achieve the required retaining function is insufficient and thus risky. The strap 80, usually made of nylon, tends to be damaged by the teeth 72 and thus incapable of providing the required retaining function. Frequent change of the strap 80 is required. In addition, adjustment of the strap length is inconvenient since both hands are required.
The present invention is intended to provide a buckle device that mitigates and/or obviates the above problems.